Checkout our very first FTN on the rocks guest review of the Flesh Tearers’ Sons of Wrath novel by Chris “Captain” Morgan.
Warhammer 40,000 Book Review: Sons of Wrath by Andy Smillie (Limited Edition)
**Warning! Some Spoilers Ahead!**
For those on a time budget, look for the bolded TLDR Verdicts.
The General Information:
Sons of Wrath is another tale from Andy Smillie about the formation and beginnings of the Flesh Tearers Chapter of Space Marines, focusing mostly on the character Nassir Amit, which takes place after the breakup of the legions by Roboute Guilliman shortly after the siege of Terra. Other stories from him regarding the Flesh Tearers are included with Sons of Wrath, such as Debt of Blood and the Horus Heresy story Sins of the Father. There is another story, Flesh of Cretacia, written by Andy Smillie that is about the discovery and colonization of the Chapter Homeworld, but that is not included in this set.
Presentation:
The book itself is presented in what could be considered classic Black Library style. The book and story are tucked safely into a magnetic-clipped case, which has the strong image of Nassir Amit roaring and screaming at an opponent on the case and book with a shiny finish. The paper and hardbound book quality are high, and the book has a section of full color pictures of some characters, armor, spacecraft, and even vehicles.
TLDR Presentation Verdict: Excellent – Black Library stayed true to its consistently high quality.
The Novel:
The novel Sons of Wrath begins while the newly formed Chapter is on its way to a new system, and tensions are high as they wait for the next fight, and attempt to deal with the aftermath of the Horus Heresy. The personality of the warriors of this Chapter is well established in the opening chapter. Nassir Amit, the Chapter Master of the Flesh Tearers, (and the source of the chapter’s name, having carried his nickname as “The Flesh Tearer” from his days as a Captain of the Blood Angels Legion into his new responsibilities), seems constantly on the edge of violence, and that is not far from the truth.
Anyone who doesn’t understand the nature of the Flesh Tearers will know most of what they need to know about them by the end of the first chapter of the book. The nice thing about them is when you are reading this novel you aren’t seeing the typical Space Marine archetype, or even the standard Blood Angel archetype of noble, wise, clean, and restrained warriors (albeit quietly battling their curse). These are warriors coming out of an experience that forced them to relinquish everything they cared about the most, and their coping mechanism is brutal, bloody, and messy close-quarter violence with friend and foe alike. They have the most calloused disregard for human life out of any loyalist chapter in the Imperium of Man (my opinion), as evidenced by both the treatment of their chapter serfs and also the civilians that stand in their way later.
The star of the show is Amit, who asserts his authority with brutality and a dominating physical presence instead of stirring speeches and rhetoric. His decision-making is based more on a need to hurt rather than on tactics and planning. His character easily has the most depth, and his resentment of his new role and the state of the now-broken legions is palpable from the very start. Any Ultramarine fans out there will be highly offended by his opinion of their Primarch, because no one is safe from his wrath or scorn. His personality remains consistent with his introduction as a character in the James Swallow novel Fear to Tread, which I think is a real strength for his character. If the standard Chapter Master is on a glowing throne (or a bike, as is often the case nowadays) magnanimously meting out orders with his grandiose wisdom, Amit is more like the drill sergeant in your face screaming abuse until you pee yourself. He is not a nice guy, and he doesn’t try to be a nice guy, but he is willing to say and do what others are not brave enough to do. This makes for interesting reading as you see his leadership skills put to the test both by his enemies and allies alike. In many ways, Amit reflects every aspect of his warriors all on his own.
The advantage of this deviance from the standard “heroic” archetype simultaneously becomes a slight downfall in terms of character depth for the rest of the cast of this story. Many of the supporting characters do not add much dimension to the character of the chapter’s warriors. The closest thing to that is Chaplain Zophal, who is the only person in the whole books that seems to maintain calm and use more words than fists. His influence in the story is definitely refreshing, and keeps the reader from bursting out into random fits of violence along with the characters.
The biggest thing that this book is lacking is a strong nemesis. As with many other Blood Angel novels, it seems that the only enemy strong enough to challenge them is themselves as they battle the urges and temptations brought on by their curses, which are inevitably exploited by some (insert forgettable demon name here) influence of the Ruinous Powers. The enemy that they are fighting in the system they arrive in stays largely unnamed, and they have no depth as opponents; acting more as background noise than an actual threat. When engaging the Flesh Tearers in combat they are completely and utterly overwhelmed and overpowered without posing much of a challenge at all. Some unfortunate Ultramarine successors are also caught in the crossfire and are also hilariously washed over by the tide of rage. As a long time Blood Angel reader/fan, it seems like this was a missed opportunity to show them experiencing their curse against a Xenos threat, which I feel would have accentuated their struggle to return to a norm of pre-heresy conquering. To his credit, the author was brave enough to show the collateral damage that the Flesh Tearers can inflict and the lengths they will go to hide it (which may have been his point all along). Regardless, I feel that a well-defined villain or nemesis would have added a lot to the narrative, and created a heroic depth to the characters that was hinted at several times in the book (or on the cover) but never fully realized.
TLDR The Novel Verdict: Good – A refreshing deviance from the standard Space Marine archetype, but at the cost of well-developed supporting characters, and no really well-defined villain.
Bang For Your Buck: There’s no getting around the fact that this is marketed as a collector’s edition. At $75.00 for the whole package, a collector will be happy with what he gets because it is a quality product, however for the more casual or curious reader, it’s likely better to wait for the non-special edition release. As a Blood Angel Collector, I was happy to put this on the shelf next to my Mephiston: Lord of Death special edition book.
How this affected my hobby: I went into this book asking myself if I thought building a Flesh Tearers force would be worth the effort, and interestingly enough it wasn’t the book itself that put me into the “yes” column, it was the short story Debt of Blood. Listening to Amit share his feelings about Guilliman’s chapter-splitting antics to the blue Primarch’s face was extremely gratifying. If they come out with a Flesh Tearers supplement codex, then I think I will be happily adding some to my collection.
Favorite Passage:
“We erect tombs such as this not out of deference for the dead, but to fool ourselves that someday there will be silence for us too.” Amit Paused and turned from Grigori. “But there will never be silence.”
“Perhaps.” Grigori flexed his eviscerators and strode past him. “Perhaps you have yet to shed enough blood to drown out the noise.”
“Perhaps.” Amit grinned and fell into step behind the Dreadnought. “Let us find out.”
I hope that you enjoyed this review. Has anyone else out there had a chance to read it? What were your thoughts and impressions?
Until we meet again on the battlefields of the Dark Millennium -Captain Morgan
About the Author: Rob Baer
